


Odd Wheels

by Amjead



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Adult Themes, Alternate Universe - College/University, Everyone is kinda OOC, Ianto and Lisa briefly, Jack and John briefly, Jack and Rose briefly, Multi, janto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2015-01-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 06:38:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2682932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amjead/pseuds/Amjead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ianto Jones is a shy, simple bloke who is the odd wheel in his group of friends. Jack Harkness is a bed-hopping serial flirt who is also the odd wheel in his group of friends. What happens when these two unlikely characters meet?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know nothing about British Universities. So, I can pretty much guarantee some inaccuracies. Also, Christopher is supposed to be the 9th Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness start off their school years on completely different ends of the spectrum.

In September of 2006, Ianto Jones started his first year at Davies University in Cardiff. Like any other newly minted Uni student, he felt lonely and out of place. He didn't even have a roommate to confide in. A bloke named Tommy Brockless was supposed to share Ianto's dorm room, but he never showed up. Ianto spent most of his time completely alone. He hated it.

\---

In September of 2006, Jack Harkness started his second year at Davies University in Cardiff. Jack was an exchange student from America. He had a dashing smile and a winning personality. Lovers and associates came easily to him. Everyone wanted to know Jack Harkness.

This year, Jack was rooming with his friend Christopher Dockson, a fellow second year. They met last year at a party. Jack had been hitting on Christopher, but got turned down. It was an awkward encounter for the both of them, but now they just look back at it and laugh. On their first night back, they got pints at the pub and toasted the new year.

\---

In October of 2006, Ianto Jones was sitting alone in his dorm room, reading a book. Suddenly, there was a knock on his door.

“Who could that be?” Ianto wondered. When he answered the door, a pizza delivery boy was standing there. “Can I help you?” asked Ianto confusedly.

The delivery boy handed the pizza to Ianto and said, “That will be ten quid please.”

“I didn't order a pizza,” said Ianto.

The delivery boy pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and reread the address on it.

“Is this Torch Hall?” he asked, referring to the dorm.

“Yes,” answered Ianto.

“Well, someone ordered a pizza to be delivered to room twelve in Torch Hall.”

“There must be some kind of mistake,” said Ianto. “It's probably just a prank. I didn't order any pizza.”

“Well, somebody's going to have to pay for this,” the delivery boy insisted.

“Fine,” Ianto sighed. He begrudgingly got his wallet out and forked over the ten quid and a tip.

“Have a nice day,” said the delivery boy with an ironic smile.

Ianto glumly stared at the pizza he'd obtained.

“I'm going to need a plate for this,” Ianto thought. He was much too neat to eat pizza straight out of the box. “The dining hall has plates. I'll eat it there.”

So, Ianto walked across the campus carrying a pizza.

“What am I going to do with the leftovers?” Ianto thought. “There's no way that I can eat this whole pizza by myself.”

Ianto was pulled out of his train of thought by someone shouting at him, “Hey! You with the pizza!”

Ianto looked up and saw four students, two boys and two girls, sitting at a nearby table and looking at him.

“Come here,” said one of the girls.

Ianto was very confused, but he walked over anyway.

“Why are you carrying a pizza across campus?” the girl asked.

“A pizza was sent to me as a prank,” Ianto explained. “I was taking it to the dining hall so I could get a plate.”

The boy sitting next to the girl who initially spoke to Ianto said, “Do you have anyone to share that with?”

Ianto shook his head, feeling rather stupid. 

“Well, pizza alone is no fun,” said the other girl. “Sit with us. We'll share it with you.”

Ianto smiled at them. They seemed friendly enough.

“All right,” said Ianto. He sat down and the girl who first spoke to him introduced everybody.

“My name's Gwen Cooper. I'm a second year criminal justice student.” She put her hand on the boy next to her and said, “This is my boyfriend Rhys. He's also a second year. That's Owen.” She pointed at the boy across from her. “He's a second year nursing student and that's his girlfriend Tosh. They met in class last year.” 

“My name's Ianto Jones,” he said. “I'm a first year student.”

“I met some first years today,” said Owen. “Who's your roommate?”

“I don't have one,” said Ianto. “He never showed up.”

“That's strange,” said Rhys.

“Yeah. Strange and a little sad,” agreed Tosh. “I imagine that you've been pretty lonely around here,” she said to Ianto.

“Maybe he'll come later,” said Gwen. “I know with my roommate, something happened with her transfer here and she only just arrived this month. Well, whatever it is, you don't have to be lonely anymore. We'll hang out with you.”

Ianto looked at the four people in front of him. They all looked like they genuinely wanted to be his friend. Ianto smiled at them. He was very happy to have found a group of friends to hang out with. By the end of the meal, phone numbers had been traded and Ianto felt like he finally had a place to belong.

When it was the end of the day, the five all said goodnight to each other. After they all said their verbal goodbyes, Gwen kissed Rhys goodnight and Tosh kissed Owen.

“Uh oh,” thought Ianto. “I think I'm the fifth wheel. I hope everything works out with us.”

\---

In October of 2006, Jack Harkness was eating lunch when Christopher came up to him and said, “I hope you don't mind. Someone's going to join us for lunch.”

“Her name's Rose Tyler, a theatre major,” Christopher said. “She's an old friend of mine and she just transferred here. Oh, there she is now.”

Jack turned his head to see the girl Christopher was looking at. She was a pretty blonde and Jack couldn't help but smile. Rose waved at the two boys and Jack was happy to have her joining them.

“Wow. She's really pretty,” said Jack. Christopher didn't say anything.

During lunch. the three of them talked as if they were all old friends. Jack and Rose seemed to get along especially well. Even after Christopher went to class, Jack and Rose continued talking. They were really hitting it off. That night, Jack slept with her in her dorm room. He didn't want a committed relationship with her, but sex seemed like a good idea.

In the morning, Jack asked Rose, “Where's your roommate?”

“She probably slept at her boyfriend's dorm.”

After a bit of silence, Jack said, “I think it would be for the best if we didn't tell Christopher about this. I think he likes you.”

“You do?” asked Rose with a twinge of excitement in her voice. Jack smiled. He didn't regret sleeping with Rose, but he had a feeling that she'd be much happier with Christopher.

“I do,” said Jack.

\---

In November of 2006, Tosh introduced Ianto to her roommate, Lisa Hallett.

“She's a second year criminal justice major, like Gwen. We all think that you two would get along.”

With that, Ianto was set up on his very first blind date. Tosh was right though. Ianto and Lisa got along famously. By the end of the week, they were dating and Ianto was no longer the fifth wheel.

\---

In November of 2006, Christopher and Rose had been dating for a few weeks.

“Well, it looks like I'm the third wheel now,” Jack thought. “I guess there's really only one thing I can do about it.”

Now, most people would've decided to look for a romantic partner as a reaction to becoming a third wheel. Jack was not most people, however. Jack decided to deal with being the odd man out by sleeping around. His first conquest was a boy named Angelo. He was sweet and gave his virginity to Jack happily.

\---

In January of 2007, Ianto and Lisa broke up.

“He was just impossible to please,” Lisa gossiped to Tosh.

“It's nothing against her really,” Ianto explained to his friends. “Lisa's a very nice girl. She's just not my type.”

\---

In January of 2007, Christopher and Rose were still dating. Jack slept with a female science major named Estelle. She bragged to her friends that it was the best sex of her life. Conversely, he forgot her name in the morning. She was just another routine lay for Jack.

\---

In February of 2007, Ianto's friends tried to set him up with half a dozen girls.

“We just don't want you to be alone on Valentine's Day,” said Gwen.

Ianto appreciated the effort of his friends. He really did want to be in a relationship. His friends seemed so happy in theirs. He wanted that for himself, but there was really no one he was interested in.

“I just don't like girls at this school,” Ianto thought.

\---

In February of 2007, Jack continued to sleep with whoever would let him. His latest bunk mate was a girl named Lucia. She was nice and Jack wanted to stay in touch with her, but Lucia refused to acknowledge his attempts at communication. Nine months later, she dropped out of school. Jack never knew why.

\---

In March of 2007, Ianto played a game of drunk Truth or Dare with his friends. Tosh dared him to kiss Owen. He did. The next day, while Ianto's head was beating out a drum solo, he recalled lingering on that kiss for just a bit too long.

“It was nice,” thought Ianto. Now, he wasn't attracted to Owen or anything, but there was something about kissing him that just felt very right to Ianto. “Maybe I'm gay,” Ianto thought in passing.

\---

In March of 2007, Jack slept with a boy named Alonzo. At least, he was pretty sure his name was Alonzo. Either way, sex with this boy was decidedly kinky. He had tied Jack to the bed. It caused Jack to make the decision that if he ever did bondage again, he'd do the tying.

\---

In May of 2007, Rhys asked Ianto, “Where are you living next year?”

“I don't know yet,” answered Ianto.

“I'm getting a townhouse next year,” said Rhys. “Owen already agreed to living there. You should too.”

Ianto was very flattered that his friend asked him to live with him next year. Also, he was very excited that he'd get to live in one of the fancy townhouses that were reserved for third years.

So, naturally, Ianto said, “I'd love to live in a townhouse with you and Owen next year. Thank you for asking me.”

Gwen, who was there too, asked them, “Don't you need five people for townhouses?”

“Yeah,” said Rhys. “I need to find two more guys.”

“I think my roommate's boyfriend and his roommate are still looking for a place to stay next year,” said Gwen. “I'll pass the message along.”

\---

In May of 2007, Christopher said to Jack, “Hey, Rose's roommate's boyfriend is looking for two more guys to live in a townhouse next year. Are you interested?”

Jack thought about the possibility of living with other guys. Perhaps he'd no longer be the third wheel in the group.

“Sounds awesome,” said Jack. “I'm in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that the rest of the chapters don't have this stupid month format thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How's that for meet-cute?

In September of 2007, Ianto Jones was starting his second year at Davies University in Cardiff. He parked his car out in front of the townhouse he'd call home this year.

Ianto glanced at the clock in his dashboard and thought, “Move in started hours ago. I'm probably going to get stuck with the crappy bedroom. Oh, well. Crappy bedroom or not, it's really cool that I get to live in a townhouse this year.”

Ianto grabbed his first suitcase out of the car and knocked on the door. A guy he'd never met before answered.

“Hi. I'm Christopher,” he said. “You must be Ianto.”

“Yeah,” Ianto answered.

“Cool. I'll help you with that,” said Christopher as he took the suitcase from Ianto. “Grab another bag and I'll show you the rest of the house.”

“Ok,” said Ianto. As he walked back to his car he thought to himself, “He seems cool. I think I'll like living with him.”

Ianto came back with a box full of books. Christopher met him at the door.

“There's a thing of hooks by the door with our keys on it,” pointed out Christopher as the two passed by it. “Just pick one and label it so we know it's yours.”

“Ok,” said Ianto.

Christopher gestured to the rooms in front of them. There was a living room with a sofa, television, two chairs, and a coffee table. Just beyond that was a small kitchen.

“This is the ground floor,” said Christopher. Then, they climbed the stairs to go up to the bedrooms.

As they passed the key hooks again, Ianto noticed that only three keys were there.

“Are Owen and Rhys here yet?” Ianto asked.

“Yeah,” replied Christopher. “They went to get dinner. I said I'd wait here in case you showed up.”

“Thanks,” said Ianto. “He's definitely a cool guy,” he thought.

The next floor was a hallway with two doors.

“There's two bedrooms on this floor,” Christopher said. “They're a single and a double. I got here first. So, I took the single. Rhys and Owen took the double. You're going to be in the room upstairs with Jack.”

Ianto had never met Jack before. He'd only heard about him in passing. He knew that he was Gwen's roommate's friend, but that's all he knew.

“I hope he's a nice guy,” Ianto thought. “I'd hate to have to sleep with a jerk in my room. Well, if he's anything like Christopher, he'll be all right.”

Ianto and Christopher went up to the townhouse's top floor. This consisted of a hallway with another two doors.

“It's a bathroom and your bedroom,” said Christopher. “Sorry you have to drag all your stuff up two flights of stairs. I'll help you though.”

“Thanks,” said Ianto.

Ianto opened the door to the bedroom and found it surprisingly empty.

“Is Jack not here yet?” Ianto asked. “I feel like I came so late. I'm surprised I wasn't the last one to show up.”

“Jack had a bit of an accident. So, he's not going to be moving in until later this week.”

“An accident?” Ianto questioned. “What happened?”

“Jack's an exchange student from America, you see,” Christopher explained. “Because of that, he gets to move in a day early. Well, apparently, while he was at the airport yesterday, he fell and broke his leg pretty badly. He's going to be spending the next couple of days at a nearby hospital, but he texted me that he'll be back to school within the week. So, I guess you've got the room to yourself for a couple of days. I bet that will be nice.”

“Oh, wow,” said Ianto. “That's pretty intense. I hope he'll be all right.”

“Jack's bounced back from much worse,” Christopher assured. “He'll be fine.” Just then, the two boys heard the front door open and close. “Owen and Rhys must be back,” said Christopher. So, they headed downstairs.

Upon entering the living room, Ianto found that all four of his friends were there. A wide smile spread onto his face. He couldn't help himself. He was just so happy to see his friends.

As they greeted each other, Christopher said, “I'm going to slip out to get dinner. I'll see you later.” The boys bid a farewell to their roommate. Once he was out of the door, Ianto had a question.

“Do any of you know what this Jack guy is like?”

Rhys, Tosh, and Owen shrugged, but Gwen piped right up.

“Since he's my roommate's friend, I've met him a couple of times,” said Gwen. “He's a bit of a man-whore.”

“Oh, really?” asked Ianto. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, he flirts with everyone, and I mean everyone. Guys. Girls. It doesn't matter. He wants to sleep with anyone who has a postcode.”

“Oh my,” said Ianto as his eyes widened. “He sounds like a bit much.”

“He kinda is,” said Gwen. Her words made Ianto nervous. He silently prayed that sharing a bedroom with him would be bearable.

 

\---

 

A week later, Christopher was sitting alone in the living room when there was a knock at the door. When he opened it, Jack and his crutches were standing there before him.

“I'm going to need help bringing my stuff in,” said Jack.

Christopher nodded and they headed to the car to bring in some boxes.

“How good are you with stairs?” Christopher asked while looking at Jack's cast.

“It'll take me awhile to get up them, but I can manage.”

“That's good,” replied Christopher. “You're on the top floor. You're sharing a double bedroom with a bloke named Ianto.”

“Top floor? Are you serious?” Jack groaned.

“Think of it this way,” said Christopher. “You're right next to the bathroom.”

“I guess I'll just have to deal then,” said Jack.

As Jack and Christopher brought the first boxes into the townhouse, Jack asked, “Where is everyone?”

“The three other guys are out. The school offered an all day trip to Barry Island Pleasure Park.”

“What the heck is that?” asked Jack. His non-localization was showing again.

“It's an amusement park,” Christopher explained. “We'll have to go sometime.”

After a long while, Jack was finally unpacked. The crutches and cast made the process very slow, but Jack was able to take care of himself pretty well.

“I feel bad that it was just you helping me,” said Jack.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Christopher with a shrug. “Do you want to go to the dining hall for some dinner?”

“Most definitely,” Jack said enthusiastically.

 

\---

 

While Jack and Christopher were out, the others came back from their trip. Rhys and Owen went to their girlfriend's respective dorm rooms to, “hang out.” Ianto, not having somewhere to go, decided to return to his townhouse. Besides, on the way back, Rhys had spilled and entire snow cone on Ianto. He was in bad need of a shower.

Ianto returned to the empty townhouse and headed straight for the bathroom upstairs. He was in a bit of a rush to get out of his dirty clothes. So, he didn't stop in his bedroom first. He just jumped right into the shower. Ianto loved taking showers. He felt like he was in his nice own little world. Actually, showers always made him pretty oblivious to life outside the bathroom.

 

\---

 

Once they were done with their dinner, Christopher said, “I'm going over Rose's dorm to hang out. I'll see you at the house later.”

“Ok,” said Jack. And they went their separate ways. Jack inched forward on his crutches as he thought about what he should do for the rest of the evening.

“It's starting to get later and later,” Jack thought. “I should probably go around campus to see where tomorrow's classes are being held. It's going to take me awhile to get to them because of my damn leg. I know I should do that, but unpacking just really took it out of me. I think I'm going to just go back to my room and rest.”

As Jack hobbled up the stairs, he heard the shower.

“The guys must be back from their trip,” he thought. “I'll introduce myself tomorrow. I'm just so tired out right now. Some good rest is what I need.”

Jack went into his bedroom and took off his T-shirt. Then, he shimmied out of his loose trousers.

“I'll be glad when this cast comes off,” Jack thought. “Sweat pants are not a good look for me.” He stood in the middle of the room in nothing but his cast and deep blue Y-fronts. He then hobbled over to his bed and laid down. “I've got a few more things to check before I go to sleep,” thought Jack as he grabbed his laptop and plugged in his headphones.

 

\---

 

A few moments later, Ianto turned off the shower taps. He went to grab his towel, only to realize that he forgot to get it out of his room.

“Damn,” Ianto swore quietly. He cracked the bathroom door open and listened. He was greeted with silence. “Owen and Rhys must still be out,” Ianto thought. “Good. Don't want them to catch me with my cock out.” So, Ianto casually walked into his room, completely naked.

The door suddenly opening caused Jack to look up from his laptop and pull his headphones off. He was not expecting the sight that was before him. Jack opened his mouth to say hello, but nothing came out because his new roommate was standing before him, utterly nude. He started to blush. His brain screamed at him to look away, but he found himself frozen in shock.

There was a bloke in Ianto's bedroom. There was a strange bloke in Ianto's bedroom. There was a strange bloke in just his pants in Ianto's bedroom. There was a strange bloke in just his pants in Ianto's bedroom and Ianto wasn't wearing anything. They were caught so off guard that they both stayed completely still for an eternal five seconds.

Finally, Jack broke the silence and said, “Hi. I'm Jack Harkness. You must be Ianto. I'm your roommate.” Ianto didn't say anything. He spotted a dressing gown that was within reaching distance. He grabbed it and shut the door without saying a word.

“I'm sleeping on the sofa tonight,” Ianto thought as he pulled the dressing gown on and went to retrieve his pants from the bathroom. “I don't even care if these aren't clean,” thought Ianto. “There is no way I'm going back in my room.” Once he was decently covered, he went downstairs to lay on the couch, but first he left a message on the coffee table to explain his sleeping situation to his housemates. The little bit of paper simply said, “Don't ask.”

With that, Ianto turned off the light and tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately, sleep was not finding him. Every time Ianto closed his eyes, all he could see was Jack in his Y-fronts. He just couldn't get the image of Jack's nearly naked body out of his mind.

“He looked really good in those,” Ianto thought without realizing it. When Ianto finally did fall asleep, he had a very interesting dream about Jack, but he didn't remember it in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Ianto have a proper introduction and find out more about each other. Maybe they have more in common then they realize.

The next day, Ianto was able to leave the townhouse and get to class without running into Jack. First lecture of the day was philosophy. Ianto liked the professor. He was laid back and never took role. That was a very good thing for one time earlier in the week when Ianto had overslept. 

Ianto was taking notes while his professor talked. It was very quiet, but then Ianto heard a strange noise. It was a clack-clack-clack sound and it just kept getting louder and louder.

“What on Earth could that be?” Ianto thought.

The sound got louder until it seemed like it was right outside of the door. Ianto looked up and saw Jack standing there on a pair of crutches.

“Oh no,” thought Ianto as his face flushed and his heart quickened.

“I'm sorry I'm late,” said Jack. “I had trouble finding this class and the elevators, uh, I mean lifts are broken.”

“It's all right,” said the professor. “Sit wherever you want.”

There were lots of empty seats, but Jack chose the one right next to Ianto.

Ianto's stomach flipped and his palms went sweaty.

“Oh my God,” thought Ianto. “He's sitting right next to me. Even if I look forward, I can still see him out of the corner of my left eye. What if he makes a habit of sitting next to me? What am I going to do? This is unnerving. I need to focus.”

Ianto tuned back in to the lecture just as the professor was saying, “What I'm trying to get at is that there's no real camaraderie anymore. We know nothing about our fellow person. That's why I'm proposing this small project. You'll partner up with the person next to you and get to know them. Really learn something about them. Then, you'll write a small paper about what you learned from the experience. Now, look at the person next to you and introduce yourself.”

Ianto turned to his right and found that his neighbor was already talking to the person on the other side of him.

“Oh, God,” thought Ianto. Then, he slowly turned his head to find Jack staring right at him.

“Hello, handsome,” said Jack once Ianto turned around. “I guess we have to learn all about each other.” Jack glanced down at Ianto's lap and said, “Well, I already know one thing about you.”

Ianto blushed furiously and then quickly pulled out his notebook. Suddenly, he was very invested in writing something down.

 

\---

 

Later at lunch, Ianto was sitting with Gwen, Rhys, Tosh, and Owen.

“How were your classes today?” Tosh asked the group. They all piped up about how their day went.

When it got to Ianto, he said, “I'm doing this project in philosophy where I have to learn about and write a paper on one of my classmates. I got paired up with Jack. I'm not too thrilled about it.”

“Oh? Why not?” asked Rhys.

“Well, didn't Gwen tell me that he's kind of unsavory?” Ianto questioned.

“I said he was a serial flirt. I didn't say he was a bad guy,” said Gwen. “Honestly, I don't know too much about him.”

“None of us really know anything about him,” said Owen. “Wait a minute. Did something happen with you guys last night? Is that why you were sleeping on the sofa?”

“N-no,” stammered Ianto as he felt his face go flush again. “Nothing happened. I slept on the couch for a completely innocuous reason.”

Owen shrugged and went back to a more pressing matter. That matter being whispering to Tosh and making her laugh.

“They're always so coupley,” Ianto thought. “I'm not mad about it. In fact, I kind of want it for myself, but it's just so awkward to be around.”

Ianto went to say something to Gwen and Rhys, but he found that they were also in their own little couple world. Ianto quietly sighed.

“I like my friends, but I'm always stuck being the fifth wheel. This is bollocks. I wish that there was someone on campus that I actually found attractive. Then I could be in my own relationship and this would be less awkward.”

Ianto looked around the dining hall. Across the room, he saw Jack sitting with Christopher and Rose. Ianto didn't know much about her. He'd only met her once while studying with Gwen, but he did know that she was Christopher's girlfriend. At the moment, she seemed very involved with flirting with him. Ianto looked again at Jack. The expression on his face matched the one that Ianto had on only a few moments ago.

Jack glanced up and caught Ianto's gaze. He looked over at Christopher and Rose. They didn't even notice him. Jack looked back at Ianto and made a gesture that asked, “Do you want to go?” Ianto looked again at his friends. They too were lost in their little couple worlds. Ianto returned his attention to Jack and nodded.

“I have to go now,” said Ianto to the others. “I'll see you later.”

The other four gave him half-hearted goodbyes and Ianto went to meet Jack. As he approached him though, Ianto found himself feeling more and more nervous.

“Oh, this was a bad idea,” Ianto thought.

Jack and Ianto met up near the doorway. Ianto looked awkwardly at Jack as if he was trying to find something to say. Thankfully though, Jack did the talking.

“Listen,” said Jack. “I want to apologize. My comment in class was uncalled for. It's obvious that I embarrassed you last night and what I said today didn't help. It wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable. I think we were both just taken by surprise.”

Ianto gave Jack a small smile. He seemed decent enough.

“Well, I'm glad we can start off on a better foot now,” said Ianto.

Jack smiled earnestly and said, “I'm kind of glad that we're partners for the philosophy project. Since we live together it'll be easier to get information.”

Ianto agreed and said, “Let's head back to the townhouse. That's where my philosophy notebook is and I can start writing stuff down in there.”

When they got back to the room, Ianto sat down at his desk. Jack flopped onto the bed. Ianto pulled out his notebook and a pen.

Jack said, “Ok. Question time. Fire away. What do you want to know?”

“I'll start with the basics first,” said Ianto. “Where are you from?”

“Coincidentally, I'm from Cardiff, New Jersey,” replied Jack.

“Tell me about your family,” said Ianto.

“Well, I had a mother and a father,” said Jack. “I've got a brother too. He's either eighteen or nineteen now. I can't remember.”

“You can't remember how old your brother is?” Ianto chuckled. “How can you not remember your brother's age?”

Jack smiled cheekily and said, “I'm sorry. You'll have to get to a level four friendship to unlock my tragic back story.”

Ianto wasn't sure if Jack was serious or not so, he asked, “What do I have to do to get to level four?”

“Buy me a drink first,” said Jack with a small laugh.

“Is he asking me for a date?” Ianto thought as his insides went fuzzy. “Probably not. Gwen says he's a serial flirt. He's probably just messing with me. Besides, I'm not-”

Jack had interrupted that train by asking, “What about you? I need to know the details about your sordid life. What are your dirty secrets? Where do you like to hide out?”

“Oh, that's easy,” said Ianto. “Do you know the woods on the edge of campus? Well, just beyond the first layer of trees, there's a clearing,” Ianto explained. “I like to go there to think sometimes.”

“That's really interesting,” said Jack. “What else is there to know about you? Where are you from?”

“I'm from Cardiff,” said Ianto. “I grew up not too far from here actually.”

“Great,” said Jack. “Tell me more.”

“I lived with my parents and my older sister, Rhiannon,” said Ianto. “She's twenty-one now.”

Ianto considered what to say next, but then Jack's phone rang. It was a text from Christopher.

“I'm not bailing on you, but could we continue this later?” asked Jack. 

“Sure,” said Ianto. 

“Cool,” said Jack. “Could you hand me my crutches?” 

Ianto did so and Jack hobbled out of the room. Ianto listened to him as he slowly clack down the stairs.

“Level four friendship to unlock his tragic back story,” thought Ianto. “I wonder what he's hiding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. Cardiff New Jersey is a real place.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A game of drunk Truth or Dare starts a chain reaction that causes an important revelation for Ianto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: This part in an exception to the T rating. The end of this chapter is nsfw

The next day, Jack got his cast taken off. So, on Friday, he and his friends celebrated with a small party at the townhouse. All of the guys who lived there plus the three girlfriends were in attendance. The two groups were friendly toward each other, but they most kept to their respective sanctions. That changed, however, when a bottle of strong alcohol was introduced and a game of Truth or Dare was proposed.

They were all rather sloshed when Rose said, “Jack, I dare you to kiss one of the boys here.”

“Well, you, you, and you are spoken for,” said Jack indicating Christopher, Rhys and Owen. “I guess that leaves you,” he said as he looked right at Ianto.

The younger boy started to sputter, but he couldn't get his words out in time. Jack came over to him and kissed him deeply on the mouth.

“Oh, God. This kiss is amazing,” Ianto thought. “I must be drunker than I realize.” Kissing Jack just felt so natural to Ianto. It was such a good kiss that the two participants didn't even realize how long they'd been kissing.

It wasn't until Gwen said, “Whoa” that they finally pulled apart.

Once they were separated, Jack lingered in front of Ianto for a couple moments. Both boys looked at each other with a dangerous curiosity burning in their eyes. Jack smirked. Ianto blushed.

Then, Owen said, “Hey, Ianto, your mouth's open. Did you give Jack some tongue?”

Ianto's hand flew to his mouth. Owen was right. His mouth was open. This made Ianto blush even harder. In all honesty, he couldn't remember if he used tongue or not.

"Oh, God,” thought Ianto again, but for different reasons this time. “I really hope I didn't put my tongue in his mouth. I'll have to ask him later. Wait a minute. What am I saying? I never want to talk about this kiss again. It was really weird and confusing.” Ianto didn't say another word out loud for the rest of the party.

The next morning, Ianto woke up terribly hungover. His head ached and his memories of the previous night were fuzzy. He groggily went downstairs to scrounge around the kitchen for some toast. When he got there, he found Jack making pancakes. Jack's presence made Ianto feel mildly embarrassed, but he couldn't figure out why.

“Good morning,” said Jack warmly.

“How are you not completely hungover?” Ianto asked.

Jack shrugged and said, “I guess I've got a high tolerance.”

“Are Owen and Rhys awake yet?” Ianto asked.

“Nope,” said Jack. “I don't think they will be for awhile. I guess it's going to be just you and me for breakfast this morning.”

“That's weird,” thought Ianto. “My face is flushing. Why is it doing that?”

Jack handed Ianto a plate full of pancakes and asked him, “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Terrible,” Ianto replied. “I've got a bad headache and my memory is spotty. Did I do anything embarrassing last night?”

Jack laughed. 

“What's so funny?” Ianto asked. 

“You did something very interesting last night,” Jack teased. “I didn't think it was all that embarrassing, but you might.”

“What did I do?” asked Ianto nervously. “Tell me.”

“We were playing Truth or Dare last night,” said Jack. “Do you remember? Rose dared me to kiss one of the boys and you were very compliant.”

Ianto blushed. Suddenly, he could remember that moment vividly.

It didn't help that Jack added on, “You even put your tongue in my mouth.” Jack laughed, but Ianto didn't hear it. He was too mortified.

“I'm so sorry,” said Ianto.

“Don't apologize,” said Jack. “It was nice. You're a good kisser.”

Ianto was taken by surprise. He looked up at Jack with shock in his eyes. Jack's expression was relaxed. He was smiling and he kept his gaze trained on Ianto as Jack took up a forkful of his pancakes.

“I'm not so hungry anymore,” said Ianto softly.

“What are you talking about?” asked Jack in a friendly nature. “You've hardly touched your pancakes.” With that, Jack picked up a bit of food onto his fork and fed it to Ianto. The younger man's heart was hammering in his chest as he accepted the food with his mouth.

“Thank you,” Ianto said awkwardly. “I'm going to go take a shower now.”

Ianto rushed upstairs and jumped right into the shower. As he cleaned himself off, hundreds of thoughts rushed through his head.

“I can't believe I kissed Jack last night. What I can't believe even more is that it was an open mouth kiss. How embarrassing. It was...it was...”

Ianto had a habit of not keeping track of his thoughts while in the shower. He'd be thinking of something, and the next thing he knew, his mental train would be in a completely different station. That was exactly what was happening now.

“It was nice,” thought Ianto without realizing it. His brain decided that it liked this thought. So, it kept on going.

“His lips were soft and his mouth was warm. It was such a satisfying kiss. I could have just stayed like that forever. I've never been kissed like that before and I don't think I ever will again. Kissing Jack just felt like the most right thing I've done in awhile.”

Ianto sighed and the sound of it brought him out of his dreamy thoughts.

“What just happened there?” Ianto thought. Then, he looked down and realized that while he was absentmindedly daydreaming, he had started stroking himself. “I have an erection?” he thought confusedly. “That can't be good.”

Well, Ianto wasn't going to let himself stay painfully hard. So, he jerked himself off the rest of the way. While he was tugging, he tried his best to not think about anything in particular. However, as Ianto got closer, he couldn't control what he thought about. As he closed his eyes and came, he thought of Jack. Once the aftershocks wore off, Ianto's eye's popped open in horror.

“Oh my God,” Ianto thought. “I just accidentally masturbated to Jack. What's wrong with me?”

Ianto avoided Jack for the rest of the day. He just couldn't face him. However, his subconscious was having none of that. His brain made sure that Ianto thought about Jack whether he wanted to or not. Every time Ianto let his mind wander, it always returned to Jack. To make matters even worse, Ianto had a particularly interesting dream that night.

In Ianto's dream, he was a girl and was wearing a dress, but that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was that he was made out of candy. Ianto was sitting in a chair. He was alone in an empty room. Then, she saw Jack coming towards her. The sight of Jack made her feel nervous and aroused.

“What are you going to do to me?” Candy Ianto asked when Jack approached her. The girlish voice that came out of his mouth surprised him.

“I'm going to eat you,” Jack replied plainly. In an instant, Jack knocked Ianto out of her chair. She tried to go into a sitting position, but her candy body wouldn't allow it. 

“Please be gentle,” Candy Ianto begged in a coy, breathy voice. 

“I'll do no such thing,” said Jack and then he bit Ianto's candy leg. 

Candy Ianto cried out, _“Oh!”_ It didn't hurt though. Actually, it felt quite pleasurable to her.

“You're not wearing underpants,” said Jack as he hiked up Ianto's candy skirt. “You're a dirty, naughty girl.”

“I am dirty, naughty,” said Candy Ianto. “I'm sorry.” 

“It's nothing to apologize for,” said Jack. “I like you dirty, naughty, but you will have to be chastised though.”

Candy Ianto relaxed onto the floor and spread her limbs so she was in a starfish position.

“I'm ready, Sir,” said Candy Ianto. The next thing she knew, Jack's face was in between her legs and he was licking. He made a noise that sounded like when you say, “Ah,” for the doctor, but with more staccato since he was licking. Also, Ianto noticed that he sounded vaguely Scottish while doing this.

“Oh, yes!” Candy Ianto cried. She couldn't help but moan in pleasure. “I'm so close to cumming. Your tongue feels like a dildo and I'm just so tight.”

Jack looked up and said, “Good,” with a satisfied smirk. “Three more licks and you'll cum for me. It'll be the biggest and greatest orgasm of your life.”

Jack licked twice more and then stopped. Candy Ianto was panting. She couldn't take it much longer.

“One more lick,” Candy Ianto breathed. “Come on. Go. Do it.”

Before Jack returned his attention to Ianto's candy vagina, he looked back up and said, “Ianto, I think you're-”

Jack didn't finish his sentence though. Instead, he gave Ianto's candy vagina one more lick and she was cumming.

In the dream, Candy Ianto loudly shouted, _“Aaahhh!!!”_ Thankfully though, when Ianto woke up, he was just quietly groaning, _“Uuuhhh...”_

“What kind of dream was that?” Ianto thought incredulously.

“Jack,” he whispered out loud. “Jack, are you awake?”

Jack snored in response and Ianto was full of relief. Jack was still asleep and hadn't heard him.

Ianto rolled over and buried his face into his pillow. Images of the dream flashed before his eyes.

“I don't know what's going on,” Ianto thought. “Jack's making me feel weird things and I don't understand it.” Suddenly, the wheels in Ianto's brain started turning. “I'm not really attracted to the girls on campus. Honestly, I've never been all that attracted to any girl. That time I kissed Owen felt very right. I kissed Jack with my mouth open. It was the greatest kiss of my life. I kind of jerked off to the though of Jack earlier today. I just had a wet dream about him.”

Then, Ianto very quietly whispered into his pillow, because he wanted to say it out loud, “I think I might be gay.”

Jack snored in response once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is Ianto made of candy? Why does Jack sound Scottish while giving head? I have no fucking clue. Also, I promise that there'll be no more smut after this. The fic goes back to its T rating and it stays that way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ianto seeks some help and gets some advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist? Do most universities have on-site counseling like this? I don't even know.

The next day, Ianto went to go see the school's psychologist.

“What seems to be the trouble, Mr. Jones?” she asked.

Ianto hemmed and hawed a bit, but then he said, “I think I might be gay.” 

“Oh?” questioned the psychologist. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, I realized last night that I've never really been attracted to any girls,” Ianto explained. “Also, there's this guys I know. I think I have feelings for him. It's really weird. I don't know what to do.”

“Well, Ianto, unfortunately, there's no sure fire way to tell if someone's gay or not. It's something that you really have to find within yourself,” said the psychologist. “You need to listen to your heart, Ianto. That's the only way you'll be able to have solid emotions about your orientation. What does your heart say?”

“I don't know what my heart says,” said Ianto. “This is all so new to me.”

“That's fine,” said the psychologist. “You're young. You don't need to make and hard and fast decisions about your orientation. In fact, it's very normal for people to change their minds about who they find romantically and sexually attractive. We're constantly learning new things about ourselves everyday. Sexual epiphanies like this are normal and common. It's a troubling thing to think about at first, but self-acceptance is the first step to happiness. You know what might be helpful? Journaling. I know a lot of people who have said that keeping a journal really helped them through times of self-discovery.”

Ianto smiled. The psychologist's words made sense and were helpful.

“Thank you,” said Ianto.

“Not a problem,” said the psychologist. “Have you thought about what you're going to tell your friends?”

“No,” said Ianto.

“Why not?” asked the psychologist.

“I'm afraid of what they'll say,” admitted Ianto. 

“Well, think of it this way,” explained the psychologist. “If they're truly your friends, they'll care about you no matter what your orientation is.”

“That makes sense, but I still think I'm going to hold off on telling them,” said Ianto. “Like I said, this is new to me. I'd rather wait until I can confidently admit to myself that I'm gay before I come out to my friends.” 

“That sounds like a good plan,” the psychologist said. “If you need to talk about anything, my door's always open.” 

Ianto thanked the psychologist and left. He walked back to his townhouse feeling calmer than he did last night. He was still a little nervous about the notion of being gay. Also, there was the ordeal of his apparent attraction to Jack, but things felt a bit more manageable.

“Ok,” thought Ianto as he came into the townhouse. “Maybe I can do this after all.”

Ianto went up to his bedroom and pulled out a spare notebook.

“This will make a great journal,” he thought. He looked at the first page and thought, “Where to begin? I guess Ill just start writing and see what happens.” So, Ianto grabbed a pen, took a deep breath, and started writing.

“I have decided to keep a journal at the suggestion of the school psychologist,” Ianto wrote. “I went to see her because I'm pretty sure that I am gay. I came to this conclusion because I find myself attracted to my roommate, Jack. It all started when-”

Ianto wasn't able to continue writing because Jack had just walked into the room. Ianto quickly closed the book and stashed it under his desk. 

“Hey, handsome,” said Jack.

Ianto felt himself blush a little. He hadn't talked to Jack since he fed him pancakes yesterday. 

“Oh, uh, h-hi,” Ianto said awkwardly.

Jack didn't notice though.

Instead, he asked, “Do you want to ask me some more questions for the philosophy project?”

Ianto made a face as if he got hit in the head with a baseball. He'd forgotten all about the philosophy project. 

“Oh, right,” said Ianto. “Yeah. That's a good idea.” 

“I'm just full of good ideas,” said Jack as Ianto got out his philosophy notebook. “What would you do without me?”

Ianto shrugged as he thought up something to ask Jack.

“What's your relationship with your friends like?” he decided to ask. 

“It's great,” said Jack. “I met Christopher at a party my first year and he introduced me to Rose at the beginning of last year. They're great friends to have, but they can be a little annoying to hang around sometimes.” 

“Oh, really?” asked Ianto. “How so?”

“Well, they're dating,” Jack explained. “It's pretty hard to hang out with two people who are often doing couple things. I mean, I know that they're not trying to exclude me. It just sort of happens that way. I like spending time with them, but being the third wheel gets old fast.”

“I know what that's like,” said Ianto with a laugh. 

“What do you mean?” Jack asked.

“You said you're the third wheel in your group of friends. Well, I'm the fifth wheel,” said Ianto.

“Oh, that's harsh,” joked Jack. 

“Yeah,” agreed Ianto. “I have to be honest, I'm kind of jealous of them. I want to be in a relationship myself so I'm not the odd man out.”

“I want to be in a relationship too, but I'm always screwing things up in serious commitments,” said Jack. “That's why I flirt so much and kind of sleep around. I can have all the fun without worrying about messing something up. Granted, I haven't really done that recently. The broken leg didn't help so much.” 

The things that Jack was saying made Ianto feel uncomfortable. So, he didn't say anything.

Then Jack asked, “Is there anyone on campus you have your eye on?”

Ianto felt his heart race as he struggled to come up with an answer. 

Finally he said, “I don't think there's anyone on campus who's a match for me. Maybe someday.”

After a few moments of nothing, Jack said, “I like you, Ianto.”

Ianto's stomach completely flipped.

“What?” he asked. 

“I like you,” Jack repeated. “You're a good friend to have around. I feel very at ease talking to you.” 

Ianto's heart rate slowed down to normal and he said, “Oh. Thanks.” After a pause, Ianto added, “Am I a level four friend now? Do I get to know your tragic back story?”

“I told you. Buy me a drink first,” said Jack with a laugh.

Then Jack's phone rang. He had a text message.

Jack looked at it and said, “I feel like every time we try to work on this project, I get called away. I'm sorry. I promise I'm not bailing on you. We'll pick this up later.” With that, Jack left. Ianto, however, was already scheming.

That Friday night, Jack was sitting in the townhouse's living room alone. Rhys and Owen were out on a double date. Christopher had gone home for the weekend and Ianto was doing something upstairs. Just then, Jack got a text. It was from Ianto. This confused Jack.

“Does he not know that I'm right downstairs?” Jack thought.

Anyway, Jack opened up the message and it said, _“Come upstairs. I have a surprise for you.”_

“Well, mark my curiosity as piqued,” Jack thought as he started to climb the stairs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ianto gets to a level four friendship and learns a lot about Jack.

Jack opened the door and saw Ianto standing in the middle of the room. He had his arms behind his back as if he was hiding something.

“What's the surprise? Is it a present?” Jack asked.

Ianto walked up to him and presented a bottle of wine.

“I thought I'd buy you this instead of a drink,” said Ianto with a grin. “I'd like to get to a level four friendship tonight.”

Jack laughed out loud. Ianto really impressed him. 

“You're such a charmer, Ianto, but I think I have a few ideas on how to make this scene a bit better,” said Jack. “Go downstairs and get two wine glasses for us. I'll fix things up in here.”

Ianto did as he was told. When he came back with the glasses, he was absolutely floored with what he saw. Jack had turned off the room's big overhead lights. The only light source now was the flicker of some of fake candles. Jack had even put on some music. It was soft modern jazz. 

“Now this is what it's suppose to look like when you buy me a drink,” said Jack with a smile.

Ianto's heart began hammering in his chest again. The setting felt awfully date-y and the effect was not lost on him.

“It's my lucky day,” thought Ianto as he picked up the wine bottle and cracked it open. The wine was a fizzy moscato. So, it popped when the cork came out. The sound made Ianto jump a little, but it was mostly because he was full of nerves.

“Careful,” said Jack softly. “Don't loose your head.”

Ianto's head was already too far away gone.

Once both boys had wine in their glasses, Ianto raised his.

“We should drink to something,” Ianto said.

“To what shall we drink to?” asked Jack.

Ianto thought for a moment and said, “To level four friendships.” 

“And whatever comes after,” Jack mused. They clinked their glasses and both took a big sip.

“Whatever comes after,” Ianto repeated in his mind.

 

\---

 

Soon, Ianto could feel his tipsiness and see Jack's. They were sitting comfortably on the floor and Ianto decided that it'd be a good time for questions.

“So, Jack,” started Ianto. His words sounded a bit slurry, but not too much. “Tell me about yourself. What's in your sordid past?”

Jack looked away for a moment, but then he came back. 

“You know I'm bisexual,” he said. Now, Jack wasn't drunk, but he had more to drink than Ianto had and it was vocally apparent. “I came out to my parents when I was fourteen. They promptly kicked me out of the house.”

Ianto gasped. He thought Jack was mostly joking about having a tragic back story. He wasn't expecting to hear a saddening tale of child abandonment.

“There was a good eight months where I was living on the streets,” Jack continued. “Eventually, I found a children's shelter that I could stay in. As long as you were under eighteen, you could live there. It was really nice. The volunteers were always encouraging and they helped me get into college. I'm on a very special scholarship to this place.”

“What do you do during school holidays?” Ianto asked.

“I stay here,” Jack answered.

“What about during summer and Christmas? What do you do then?”

“I go back to New Jersey,” Jack explained. “I live in an apartment building, uh, I mean flat block, that was made especially for young homeless people. It's kind of like the next step up from the children's shelter.”

“Have you spoken with your parents since then?” wondered Ianto.

“No,” replied Jack plainly.

“What about your brother?”

“I see him a couple of times a year,” said Jack. “He sneaks out of the house. We hang out for a few hours. He asks me if I'm still bisexual. I say yeah. He says that if I stop being bisexual, I can come home. I tell him that it doesn’t work like that.”

“That's horrible,” said Ianto quietly. His heart was breaking. “I can't believe your family would just desert you like that.”

“Well, they did,” said Jack with a shrug. “There's nothing I can do now except learn from it and move forward. Considering everything that's happened, I ended up pretty lucky.”

Ianto felt like he could cry for Jack. How could he be so casual about this horrendous predicament?

“I don't care how you feel about it,” Ianto said sternly. “You're coming home with me this Christmas.” 

“Really?” asked Jack. “You'd do that for me?”

“Of course,” replied Ianto. “You're my friend. I want to take care of you.”

Jack's face broke out in a huge grin.

“This is great,” he enthused. “Thank you so much.” Jack hugged Ianto and it was full of warmth and merriment. Then, Jack pulled back a bit. His hands were still on Ianto. They looked into the other one's eyes. In the next moment, they were kissing.

It was impossible to tell who initiated the kiss, but that didn't matter now. They're mouths were open and hungry. Their tongues and lips swirled together naturally. They were even moaning into the kisses. It was as if Jack and Ianto were made to kiss each other.

When they finally pulled apart, they had to pause to catch their breath.

Once air was back in his lungs, Jack said, “I think we had a lot to drink. I can't imagine you kissing me like that sober.”

Ianto laughed and said, “Yeah. I think you're right.” He looked at his clock and said, “Wow. It's later than I thought. I'm going to go to bed now.”

“All right,” said Jack. “I'm going to take a shower. Don't walk in on me now.” Jack winked, Ianto laughed again, and they went on to do their respective things. Now, before Ianto fell asleep, and before Jack left the shower, they both masturbated. That kiss was just too good to be true.

 

\---

 

The next morning, the boys woke up roughly the same time.

“Good morning,” Ianto grumbled.

Jack laughed and said, “Was it good for you? I feel like this is a morning after type thing.”

Now it was Ianto's turn to giggle even though he felt the blush returning to his cheeks.

They were silent for a minute as they laid in bed. Then Jack asked, “Are things still the same now that we're sober?” 

“Is he talking about the kiss?” Ianto thought. “Does he want things to be the same?” Ianto played the question off by asking one of his own. “What do you mean?”

“I'm talking about Christmas,” said Jack. 

“Oh,” said Ianto quietly.

“Of course he's not talking about the kiss,” thought Ianto. “He's probably too hungover to remember.”

Ianto was taken out of his train of thought by Jack asking, “Do you really think it'll be all right if I go home with you for the holidays?”

“I can't see why it wouldn't be,” said Ianto. “I'll call later and ask, but there's no reason you couldn't.”

“I'm so excited,” said Jack with a smile. “I haven't had a proper Christmas in I don't know how long.”

Ianto smiled at his friend and thought, “What a sad thing to say. Jack has to come home with me.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Ianto learn more about each other. Both get unexpected surprises.

Later that day, Ianto called home. His sister picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" she asked.

“Hi, Rhiannon. It's Ianto,” he said.

“Hi. What's going on?” Rhiannon asked.

“I have a big favor to ask you,” said Ianto. “You see, I'm living with this guy named Jack. He has no place to go for the holidays. Do you think that maybe he could spend Christmas with us?”

“Do I have to buy him a Christmas present?” Rhiannon asked. 

“I don't think so,” Ianto answered.

“Fine. He can come then,” said Rhiannon.

“Oh, thank you so much,” said Ianto. “I'm going to go tell him. He'll be really happy to hear about it. I'll talk to you later, Rhiannon.”

Once Ianto was off the phone with Rhiannon, he sent Jack a text. 

_“Where are you? I have something I want to tell you.”_

A minute later, Jack texted back, _“I'm at the theatre. Meet me there.”_

As Ianto got closer to the theatre, he got more and more excited. 

“This is great,” thought Ianto. “Jack will have somewhere nice to go for Christmas. He won't be alone this year. What's even better is that I get some time with Jack. There won't be any school or roommates in the way. It'll be just me and him. This will provide me with an excellent opportunity to sort out some of my feelings.”

When the theatre came into sight, Ianto could see Jack. He was standing with another boy. The two of them were animatedly talking about something.

“Who is that?” Ianto thought.

Suddenly, the other boy grabbed Jack's shirt collar and passionately kissed him.

It caused Ianto to stop in his tracks. Now, Jack had not been the one to initiate this kiss, but he certainly wasn't resisting. Ianto didn't know what to do. So, he turned on his heels and quickly headed for the library. Once he was there, he saw that he had a text message from Jack.

_"Where are you?"_

Ianto texted back, _“Something came up. I can't meet you. I just wanted to let you know that I got the, 'ok' for you to spend the holidays with me.”_

“This is going to be awful,” Ianto thought as he pressed the send button on his phone. “I wish I had never even invited him in the first place.”

 

\---

 

Once Ianto felt calmer, he went back to his room. When Ianto got back there, he pulled out his journal and decided to write through his problems.

“I saw Jack kissing another boy today,” Ianto wrote. Just seeing the words before him made his hands shake a little. Ianto took a deep breath. “Keep writing,” he thought. “Just keep writing.”

“It made me feel jealous,” Ianto continued. “I don't know why though. It's not like I'm dating him or anything. Jack's just a friend. I mean, we've kissed twice, and last night's kiss was pretty intense, but it doesn't mean anything. We were drunk both times when it happened. I don't even think Jack remembers them. This whole thing is stupid. I have no right to feel jealous and yet, I do. Why?”

Ianto didn't have the opportunity to continue writing, because Jack just then came into the room.

“Hey, handsome,” said Jack.

Ianto avoided his gaze and said, “Hi. Sorry I never met up with you earlier.” 

“That's all right,” said Jack. “I ran into a friend and he needed help with something. So, I probably couldn't have met up with you anyway.”

Ianto could feel his stomach getting upset. 

“Help with something?” he thought. “Is that what he's calling it now? This is just horrible. I'm getting myself upset for no reason.”

"Did you see the e-mail from our philosophy professor?” Jack asked.

The question brought Ianto out of his train of thought. 

“What was that?” Ianto asked. 

“Our philosophy professor sent out an e-mail,” Jack repeated. “Did you see it?”

Ianto hadn't checked his e-mails all day. 

So, Ianto said, “No. What's up?”

“Apparently, he messed up with the syllabus or the curriculum or something,” Jack explained. “He canceled that getting to know your fellow person project.”

“Oh, that's too bad,” said Ianto. 

“Yeah. I know,” agreed Jack. “I bared my soul for no reason.” Then he paused and added, “Well, I got another kiss from you. So, I guess it wasn't too bad.” Jack laughed. Ianto blushed. So, Jack _had_ remembered after all. 

“Jack, you're such a whore,” Ianto said with a small forced laugh.

Jack laughed some more and said, “Yeah. I guess you're right.” He thought Ianto was joking. Ianto even said it in a joking manner, but the truth was that Ianto had very hurt feelings.

 

\---

 

With the philosophy project canceled, and Ianto struggling with his jealous feelings, Jack and Ianto didn't talk much to each other for awhile. They were civil, of course, but there just wasn't much to say. 

“This is going to be an awkward Christmas,” Ianto thought the day before the holiday began. “I'm just going to have to make the best of it though. I can't let me jealousy ruin the holidays.”

On December fifteenth, Jack and Ianto loaded into the car and drove to Ianto's home. Jack was excited. Ianto was nervous. Jack chatted away happily the whole ride. Ianto barely said anything.

After awhile, they were pulling in front of a block of flats. 

“Apartments?” Jack thought. “I was expecting something bigger for a family of four, but I'm sure it's just fine. I wonder how many bedrooms it has. I wonder where I'll be sleeping.”

Ianto rang the front door bell and Rhiannon buzzed them up. The two boys walked their suitcases up to the fourth floor and Ianto took care of introductions. 

“Jack, this is my sister, Rhiannon.”

Jack smiled charmingly and shook her hand.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Rhiannon,” he said with a bit of flirt in his voice. 

"Don't," mumbled Ianto.

Jack backed off.

“So, where should I put my things?” he asked. 

“You can put your things in Ianto's room,” said Rhiannon. “I'm sorry we don't have a guest room or a particularly comfortable sofa, but Ianto's room has a sleeping bag and a carpet.”

Jack smiled. He was just glad to have a place to go this Christmas.

"Ianto, show Jack to your room,” instructed Rhiannon. 

“Uh, right,” said Ianto. “Follow me.”

As they walked towards Ianto's bedroom, Jack noticed something. He counted three doors in the hallway. One was to Ianto's room. The other two doors must be Rhiannon's room and the bathroom. There was no upstairs or downstairs. 

“Where's their parents' room?” Jack thought.

While Jack and Ianto were putting down their stuff, Jack asked, “So, where are your parents?”

Ianto looked away awkwardly and said, “Oh, uh, they're not here.”

“Oh. Ok,” said Jack.

“I guess his parents are out then,” he thought.

Just then, Rhiannon gently knocked on Ianto's door. 

“What are your thoughts on dinner?” she asked.

“I don't feel like cooking,” said Ianto. “Do you just want to go out?” 

Before Rhiannon had a chance to answer, Jack asked, “Shouldn't we wait for your parents?”

Rhiannon had a look on her face that was a mix of angry, sad, and confused. 

“Didn't Ianto tell you?” she asked. “Our parents have been dead for three years.” 

Jack's mouth dropped open in shock. He felt like an idiot. 

“Oh my God. I'm so sorry,” said Jack. “I didn't know.”

“It's all right,” said Rhiannon a bit tersely. Then, she turned her attention to Ianto and said, “I don't want to go out. I'll look through our takeaway menus and I'll see what I can come up with.” With that, she left.

“Ianto's parents are dead,” Jack thought. “That explains the two bedroom apartment. Wait a minute.”

Jack turned to Ianto and asked, “Why didn't you tell me that you lost your parents?”

“It never came up I guess,” said Ianto casually.

“You are far too nonchalant about this,” said Jack.

Ianto shrugged and asked, “Does it really matter?”

“Of course it matters,” said Jack. “I'm not an expert on familial relationships, but I know that loosing your parents is a big deal.”

“Well, it's not to me,” said Ianto with edge in his voice.

Ianto took a deep breath and more calmly said, “I was never really close with my parents. They were far too busy being impressed with Rhiannon to notice me. I was always the inferior second child. The word, 'ungrateful' got tossed around a lot. Maybe I was though. I didn't even cry when I heard about the car accident. I was sad, but I just couldn't find the emotion to be physically upset about it. I guess I really was the rotter they told me I was.”

Jack was hearing no more of this. He took a step closer to Ianto and embraced him. Jack didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. All he knew was that he needed to let Ianto know that someone cared about him.

They stayed together in their silent hug until they heard Rhiannon call out, “Do you want to order from Jubilee Pizza?”

 

\---

 

Later that night, after a nice pizza dinner, Jack was laying on Ianto's floor.

The sleeping bad was thin and Jack could feel a pain in his back, but he didn't want to overstep his boundaries.

So, Jack said, “It's fine. I've slept on worse.”

“Well, if you're sure,” said Ianto. “Goodnight then.”

“Goodnight,” said Jack as Ianto turned off the light.

Ten minutes later, Jack whispered, “Ianto, are you still awake?”

“Yes,” Ianto responded. “What's up?”

After a pause, Jack just said, “Never mind.”

Five minutes after that, Ianto whispered, “Hey, Jack?”

"Yeah?"

Ianto worded his question carefully.

“Do you, uh, do you want to, um, sleep up here?” 

“Oh my God. I thought you'd never ask,” said Jack with relief in his voice.

Jack got off of the hard floor and laid down in Ianto's comfortable bed.

"Thanks," said Jack.

“No problem,” Ianto answered. Suddenly, his chest was full of flutters. He rolled over so that he was facing away from Jack, but it didn't matter. Jack had put an arm around Ianto and was snuggling into him. Ianto fell asleep with, “Don't get a boner,” repeating in his head.

 

\---

 

The next morning, Ianto awoke with a boner. 

“Nuts,” he silently swore at himself. “Good thing I'm facing away from Jack. I'd be mortified if he knew. Oh, God. I hope he doesn't know.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack celebrates Christmas and New Year's with Ianto and his sister.

On Christmas morning, Jack had a nightmare. In his dream, he was lost in a swirling sea of darkness. He called out into the nothing, but no one answered. Thankfully, the dream was cut short by Ianto pulling Jack out of his sleep.

“Jack. Jack, wake up,” said Ianto.

Jack woke up with a start. He could feel his heartbeat and had a sneaking suspicion that he was sweating a bit.

“Did you have a bad dream?” Ianto asked.

Jack had the same dream nearly every night for the past seven years. He hated how they made him feel like a helpless child.

Jack shrugged off Ianto's question and said, “I don't know.”

“Oh,” said Ianto. “Well, get up. It's Christmas.” Ianto turned around and headed for the living room. Jack followed him.

“Christmas,” Jack thought as he walked down the hall. “I haven't had a proper Christmas since I was fourteen.”

When Jack got to the living room, a picture of holiday delight stretched before him. Rhiannon was sitting in the arm chair with a warm cup of tea in her hand. Ianto sat down on the floor by the nicely decorated tree. Jack chuckled. He found that Rhiannon and Ianto looked more like mother and son than brother and sister.

“Come sit,” said Ianto. Jack did as he was told and seated himself next to Ianto. The younger boy pulled a yellow package out from under the tree and handed it to Rhiannon.

“Thank you, Ianto,” said Rhiannon. “That green one's yours.”

Ianto grabbed the package that Rhiannon indicated and opened it. It was a jumper as green as the wrapping paper it came in.

“Thank you,” said Ianto.

Rhiannon smiled at her brother. Now that he had opened his gift, she would open hers. She pulled the paper off to find a box of fancy tea.

“My favorite flavor,” she commented. “It's nice that you remember these things, Ianto.”

Jack felt so joyous just to be sitting in on such a peaceful family moment.

“There's something here for you,” said Ianto, bringing Jack out of his reverie.

“Really?” Jack asked. Gifts were the last thing he expected. Ianto nodded and handed Jack an orange package.

“This is from Rhiannon,” said Ianto.

Jack turn to Rhiannon and said, “Thank you,” He was deeply touched that she would get him a present. Jack pulled away the paper and was left with a purple winter hat in his hands. “Oh, neat,” Jack enthused. “I love it.” Jack immediately put the hat on his head.

“This is from me,” Ianto said shyly as be placed a blue package in front of Jack.

Jack unwrapped it to find a bottle of wine. It was a bottle of the same moscato Ianto had gotten him before. Jack laughed and smiled warmly.

“How thoughtful,” said Jack. “Thank you, Ianto.” Jack showed his appreciation by leaning over and hugging Ianto. The younger boy seemed surprised by this sudden expression of affection, but he didn't shun it.

Jack was looking at his gifts when, suddenly, he remembered something.

“Oh,” Jack said with realization. “Hold on. I have gifts for you too. Wait here. I'll go get them.”

Jack had gotten Ianto and Rhiannon presents as a way to say thanks for their hospitality. It never occurred to Jack to give them these things as Christmas presents.

“Huh,” thought Jack. “I wonder why I didn't think to do that before. That was a bit dim of me.”

Jack came back into the living room with two packages. One was pink and the other one's red. He handed the pink package to Rhiannon. When she opened it, she found a bottle of perfume inside.

“How nice,” said Rhiannon. “I'll have to wear this sometime soon. Thank you.”

Then, Jack turned to Ianto and gave him the red package. It was a notebook.

“I always see you writing in that journal of yours,” said Jack. “I know that eventually you'll run out of pages. So, here's a fresh one.”

Ianto smiled, but he was feeling a bit embarrassed.

“You've seen me writing in my journal?” Ianto asked.

Jack said, “Yeah. Of course I have. You write in that thing, like, everyday.”

The two boys were silent. Rhiannon took it on as her sisterly duty to say something.

“Are you going to cook breakfast for us now, Ianto?” Rhiannon asked.

“What? Oh. Yeah,” Ianto responded.

Rhiannon nodded and said, “Ok. Good. I'll help you.” Then, she turned to Jack and said, “Breakfast is going to take awhile. Why don't you go get cleaned up?”

“Ok,” said Jack. Then he got up and headed for the shower. 

Ianto started pulling out the ingredients he needed for breakfast. He could feel Rhiannon's eyes boring into him. He was not going to say a single, solitary, blessed word unless she did. Coincidentally, she did.

“So, this Jack guy. Is he your friend?”

“Yeah,” said Ianto. “I invited him to spend the holidays with us. So I wouldn't exactly call him my enemy.”

“That's not what I mean,” said Rhiannon.

“Well, what do you mean then?” Ianto asked.

“Are you two more than friends?” Rhiannon asked.

“Please,” Ianto scoffed. “We're not anything other than just friends.”

“Well, that's funny,” said Rhiannon. “I've never known anyone who would say that they're just friends with the bloke they're sharing a bed with.”

Ianto quickly whirled around. His eyes were wide and his face was red.

“What?” Ianto asked urgently.

“Yesterday morning I was doing laundry,” Rhiannon said. “I thought I'd do you a favor and get the dirty clothes out of your room. Well, when I opened the door, I found you two snuggled up together. It really was heartwarming.”

Ianto looked down. He was extremely embarrassed.

“Don't look like that,” said Rhiannon. “I'm not angry or anything. There's nothing to be angry about. I just want to know the truth. Ianto, are you gay?”

Ianto picked his head up and looked into his sister's eyes. She wasn't angry. She wasn't judging. She really just wanted to know. Ianto had always felt so far apart from his sister. Maybe she was trying to bridge the gap. The least Ianto could do was answer her question.

“I think so,” said Ianto. “I've been doing a lot of self-reflection. I'm trying to find out who I am really. I might be gay. I really don't know.”

“So, what's the relationship between you and Jack?” Rhiannon asked.

Ianto sighed and said, “We really are just friends. Really. I don't think I'm his type. He's more of a one night stand kind of guy and I don't think I could be just a one off thing.”

“Oh my goodness,” said Rhiannon. “You like him. Don't even bother denying it. You like him. Don't worry though, Ianto. Your secret's safe with me.” 

Ianto rolled his eyes and returned to the cooking. He wasn't crazy about his sister knowing his feelings for Jack, but he knew that Rhiannon's word was good.

“Well, somebody knows now,” Ianto thought. “Somebody knows that I'm gay and I have feelings for Jack. I hope this doesn’t turn into a problem.”

 

\---

 

Six days later, it was New Year's Eve. Rhiannon had gone to a friend's house for a party and was planning on staying the night. So, it was just Jack and Ianto on their own. Neither of them had ever really bothered celebrating New Year's Eve. So, they weren't planning on doing anything big deal.

Jack had wandered into the living room and saw Ianto staring intently out of the window.

“What are you doing?” asked Jack.

“It's snowing,” Ianto said quietly.

Jack stood next to him and looked out.

“So it is,” Jack mused. The landscape outside looked like it had a sugar frosting. It was beautiful.

Jack looked over at Ianto. He looked almost awe-struck.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Jack asked.

“Do you think it's safe?” wondered Ianto. “The snow's probably making things slippery.”

“We'll be fine,” assured Jack. “I'll be there if something happens to you.” 

“I'll go get our coats then,” said Ianto with a smile.

Jack and Ianto put on their cold weather gear and headed outside to face the elements. Even though it was cold enough for the snow to stick, the two boys were warm in their hats and coats. They walked along the rode in silence. Their footsteps made a crunching sound in the snow. They stopped walking when they reached an open field. Before them laid a huge expanse of snowy ground. Jack couldn't help himself. He ran out into the field, laughing like a child. Ianto followed suit.

Eventually, they couldn't run any longer and they flopped down in the snow. The two of them silently watched the sky. Their breath steamed the air in front of them. Everything was still and beautiful and perfect. However, this beauty could not last.

After three minutes of silence, Jack said, “I hate New Year's Eve.”

“Oh?” questioned Ianto. “Why?”

“I came out to my parents on New Year's Eve,” explained Jack. “I remember sitting in the living room with my parents and brother. We were going around telling each other what our new year's resolutions were. I told them that I had resolved to be more honest. I had been thinking about coming out to them for awhile now. So, I had tacked on that in an effort to be more honest with them, I had an announcement. I told them I was bisexual and my father slapped me across the face. He grabbed me by the arms, threw me outside, and locked the door. It had all happened so fast. I was terribly shocked.”

“What did you do?” Ianto asked.

“Well, I knew that a neighborhood friend of mine was having a party. So, I showed up at his house. I figured that in the morning, my dad would've cooled down and things would be fine. I'd apologize and it would all blow over.”

“What happened in the morning?” Ianto asked, desperate to know.

“Well, I went home and knocked on the door. My dad answered and told me that I wasn't allowed back in. He shut the door and I just stood out there and cried. Five minutes later, my mom opened the door. I was very relieved to see her. Surely she'd let me in, right? No such luck. She handed me a suitcase and told me that I had to leave. She closed the door and I never saw my parents again.”

Ianto was shaking. Jack's story had broken his heart.

“Didn't you go to the police?” Ianto asked.

“My dad was chief of police,” Jack explained.

“Did you have any family to go to?”

“My parents were only children and my grandparents were dead.”

“What about friends from school? Did you have anyone to turn to?”

“I went to a very conservative school,” said Jack. “A girl had been outed as a lesbian a couple of years prior. She would get made fun of and beat up on a regular basis. Eventually her parents took her out. The kids talked about it a lot. I knew better than to come out to anyone at school.”

Life had been very unfair to Jack Harkness, and yet he seemed unfazed by it. Ianto, however, was feeling such strong emotions about the trials Jack had been through. He thought he was going to cry, but then his watched beeped.

“What was that?” Jack asked.

Ianto looked at his wrist and said, “That beep means it's midnight. It's 2008. Happy new year, Jack.”

“Happy new year, Ianto.”

The two boys turned their heads and looked deeply into their eyes. Ianto felt an indescribable push inside of him. The next thing he knew, he had rolled on top of Jack and was kissing him. As the kiss deepened, he could feel himself thrusting into Jack ever so slightly. Then, Jack rolled over so that he was on top of Ianto. Their bodies were rubbing together and creating delicious friction.

When they finally broke apart, Jack said, “If I had known that this is what kissing you while sober was like, I would've done it sooner.”

Ianto didn't really know what to say. So, he just continued to blush, pant, and smile. Jack stood up and helped Ianto to his feet.

“Speaking of which,” Jack started. “There's a bottle of moscato waiting for us and I'm totally cool with loosing this sober status.”

Ianto's smiled broadened and the two boys walked back together.

Later that night, after the moscato was consumed and the boys were thoroughly plastered, they went to bed. The two of them snuggled in Ianto's bed and Jack was the little spoon this time around. Everything was warm and cozy and perfect. It was so perfect, that Jack didn't even have a nightmare. He felt very safe in Ianto's arms.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The holidays are over and Ianto's in for a rude awakening.

As much as Jack and Ianto loved their current perfect living situation, all good things must come to an end. Soon, the holidays were over and everyone was returning to school.

“2008 is going to be a good year,” Ianto thought as he pulled his car into the townhouse's parking lot. “Things have changed between Jack and myself and I believe they've changed for the better. Who knows? Maybe I can even have a proper relationship with him.”

Ianto's happy mood was not to last though.

As they crossed the parking lot, he heard a guy call out, “Jack!”

Both boys turned around and saw another guy walking towards him. Ianto recognized him immediately. This was the boy he saw kissing Jack. Suddenly, Ianto felt very foolish.

“I was crazy for thinking I could have a proper relationship with Jack,” thought Ianto. “He's not that kind of guy. Who am I to make him commit?”

When the guy reached them, he and Jack hugged.

Then, Jack turned to Ianto and said, “Ianto, this is my friend John Hart.”

John chuckled smugly and held out his hand. Ianto shook it as Jack continued to talk.

“John's a theatre major. I've seen him act before. He's very good. Actually, he has one of the leading roles in school's spring show.”

“I didn't realize that they already casted the spring show,” said Ianto.

“Oh, they did,” said John. The way he talked sounded particularly cocky. “Casting and the first few rehearsals started before the break.” Then, he turned his attention to back to Jack and asked, “Jack can I speak with you?”

"Sure," replied Jack.

Then, John looked at Ianto with and expectant look in his face.

“Oh,” said Ianto, getting the hint. “It appears I'm not welcome here,” he said with a casual air. “That's fine. I need to go find someone anyway.”

“I have to know more about him,” Ianto thought as he walked away. “Who could I talk to that might know about him? Probably someone in his field of study. Do I know any theatre majors? Hold on a minute. I do. Christopher's girlfriend Rose is a theatre major. Maybe she can give me a dirt on this John guy.”

Awhile ago, Ianto had acquired Rose's phone number. So, he texted her asking to meet him at the dining hall. Thankfully, she was free and agreed to meet him. As Ianto walked there, he coached himself on acting casual. The last thing he wanted to do was to come off like a nosy, jealous boyfriend.

When Ianto got there, he saw Rose and sat down with her.

“So, what's up?” Rose asked.

“Do you know a bloke named John Hart?”

“Oh, I know him,” said Rose as she smiled with recognition. “He's in the spring show with me. In fact, he's actually playing my love interest.”

“This is good,” thought Ianto. “She knows him and she knows him well.”

“Does he know Jack?” Ianto asked.

“Oh yeah. They're friends,” said Rose. “I often see John rehearsing his lines with Jack. It's so funny. There's this part in the play where John's character kisses mine. He actually kissed Jack while practicing the lines.” Rose laughed, but Ianto was a bit uncomfortable.

“Are you sure that's what it was?” Ianto asked. “Was it really just a practice kiss? I mean, you know how Jack is.” Ianto chuckled to convince Rose that he was asking her this in a casual sense.

“Oh, I'm positive,” said Rose. “I heard John saying the lines that lead up to it and everything.”

Relief spread through every inch of Ianto's body. It was just a practice kiss. There was nothing going on between John an Jack.

Ianto smiled and said, “Thanks, Rose. You've been a big help.” Then he got up to leave, but Rose stopped him.

“Why did you want to know about Jack and John?” Rose asked.

Ianto started to sputter, but then stopped when he realized that she was laughing.

“I get it,” said Rose. “You like Jack and you were jealous. That makes so much sense.”

Ianto blushed, but then Rose said, “Oh don't be embarrassed. To tell you the truth, I think you'd be a really good match for him.”

Ianto's blush started to subside.

"You do?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Rose with a nod. “This sleeping around isn't good for him. He needs a concrete relationship. It'd be nice if he found someone stable to be with and I think you're just the ticket, Ianto.”

Ianto smiled. It was nice to have Rose on his side.

“Thank you,” said Ianto.

“Don't mention it,” Rose replied. “Just know that I'm rooting for you.”

Ianto gave her a nod and then left.

He walked back to the townhouse with a renewed confidence. This John guy was no threat to him. He could go back to facing his relationship goals head on.

“I can do this,” thought Ianto. “I can ask Jack on a date or maybe I'll kiss him some more. Yeah. This is going to work out just fine.”

When Ianto came back to the townhouse, he found that the door to his bedroom was locked.

He knocked on the door and called out, “Jack, are you in there? The door's locked.”

“I'll be right there,” Jack called back.

Ianto could hear him shifting around in the room.

“What's taking Jack so long?” he thought. “He just has to unlock the door.”

Just then, Jack opened the door slightly and slipped out into the hallway with Ianto. He closed the door behind him and kept his hand on the knob. Ianto looked him up and down. Strangely, he was wearing only pajama trousers.

“Can I go into my room?” asked Ianto a bit impatiently.

“Look,” started Jack. “This is really awkward and I'm probably being really douche-y right now, but you can't come in.” 

“Why not?” Ianto asked with confusion. “What's going on?”

Ianto got an answer to his question in the form of a voice from the other side of the door sighing, “Jack, come back to bed.” 

He recognized the voice as John's and knew instantly what was going on. John and Jack just had sex. Ianto went as white as a sheet and didn't say anything. He couldn't. He just turned around and ran out of the townhouse. Jack sighed. He felt bad, but he couldn't exactly explain why.

Jack went back into the room and saw John laying in bed, reading a book.

“This is hilarious,” commented John.

“What is that?” Jack asked.

John flipped to the first page and started reading.

“'I have decided to keep a journal at the suggestion of the school psychologist. I went to see her because I'm pretty sure that I am gay. I came to this conclusion because I'm attracted to my roommate, Jack. It all started when-'”

“Wait a minute,” Jack interrupted. “That's Ianto's journal. Give me that.”

Jack snatched the book out of John's hands and said, “Come on. That's not cool. It's a total invasion of privacy.”

John just laughed and said, “He's kind of pathetic.”

"I think you'd better go,” said Jack bitterly.

John shrugged and said, “Fine. You were quite boring anyway.” With that, John got dressed and left.

Jack just stood there, feeling angry, for a moment. Then, something hit him.

“Wait a minute,” Jack thought. “What did Ianto's journal say?” Jack broke his own principle and looked into Ianto's journal. He was only interested in one line.

“I came to this conclusion because I'm attracted to my roommate, Jack.”

“Ianto likes me?” Jack thought. He laughed out loud and smiled. He felt a strange rush in his stomach.

“Ianto likes me,” Jack said out loud. Suddenly, he remembered Ianto leaving the townhouse in horror not five minutes ago.

“I need to find him,” Jack thought. “I need to make things right.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Ianto have a talk about their feelings and they settle their relationship.

It took Jack a little while to find Ianto, but eventually, the younger man was discovered sitting on a bench in a secluded part of the campus.

“Ianto!” he called out to him.

Ianto's head flicked up and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. He quickly stood up and looked as if he was about to run off, but Jack called out to him again.

“No. Don't go. Stay there. I want to talk to you.”

Jack walked up to Ianto and tried to read his face. His downward gaze made it a bit hard to tell what he was thinking, but Jack could see hurt and confusion on his face mostly. Jack took Ianto's head into his hands. Did his cheeks feel wet or was Jack imagining that?

Jack carefully raised Ianto's face and quietly asked, “Ianto, do you have feelings for me?”

Ianto gently pulled away from Jack and said, “I've kissed you multiple times. What do you think?”

“I think that we were drunk the first two times,” Jack answered honestly.

“What about New Year's Eve?” Ianto questioned.

“I don't know,” said Jack with a shrug. “I figured that we were just living in the moment or something.”

“Living in the moment or something?” Ianto repeated. “No, Jack. It wasn't living in the moment or something. I kissed you because I have real feelings for you. There's your answer. Are you happy now? Yes, Jack. I'm attracted to you.”

Jack couldn't help himself. He chuckled at Ianto's confession.

“Of course you're laughing,” said Ianto. “This is so amusing to you, isn't it. How many people can the great Jack Harkness sleep with? It's all such a game to you. I think you're forgetting that other people are involved. You play around so much that you don't even consider that someone might get hurt.”

Ianto looked over his shoulder. Then, he turned back to Jack.

“Please don't follow me,” said Ianto. With that, he turned around and sprinted away as it started to snow. Jack just stood there and watched Ianto until he disappeared. He felt numb.

 

\---

 

Jack had respected Ianto's wishes. He didn't follow him, but when it was getting late and Ianto hadn't returned to the townhouse, Jack became worried. He tried calling and texting Ianto, but to no avail.

“Of course he's not going to answer,” Jack thought. “He's mad at me.”

Soon, it was very dark out and Ianto still hadn't come home. Jack asked the other guys if they'd seen him. They hadn't. Jack looked out the window. There was a large amount of snow on the ground now.

“It's dangerous for Ianto to be outside alone,” Jack thought. “I have to find him.”

Jack threw on a coat and headed outside. As he passed through the parking lot, he noted that Ianto's car was still there.

“That's a good sign,” Jack thought. “That means he's probably still on campus. Oh, I hope he's still on campus.”

As Jack searched, he heard someone call out to him. He turned around and saw John staggering towards him.

“Jack, what're y'doin' out here?” John asked.

Jack noticed that something in John's speech pattern was off, but he didn't say anything about it.

Instead, he stated, “I could ask you the same thing. You've gotta be freezing out here.”

John draped himself on Jack and said, “I've got ways t'keep warm.”

“You're drunk,” said Jack as he pushed John away.

“Yeah? So what?” John slurred. “You'd love me drunk.” John leaned on Jack again and whispered, “It makes me much better in bed.”

Jack shrugged John off again and said, “Just stop it, ok?”

“I know what this's about,” said John. “This's about that stupid roommate of yours. I dunno why y'even bother with'im. He's juss a dumb boy. Y'need a man. Y'need me.” John punctuating his remarks by slapping Jack's ass. Jack flipped out.

“Shut the hell up!” Jack shouted. “Ianto is not stupid. He is not just a dumb boy. He is my friend and I care about him deeply. I care about him more than I've cared for anyone. So, you do not get to talk about him that way.”

“If y'care about'im so much, why don't y'know wheree is?” John asked.

Jack looked as if he'd been hit over the head.

“Juss as I suspected,” John mocked. “Y'say y'care about'im and then y'go and loose'im. What a fuckin' joke. Well, have a nice ress of th'year, y'slut.” John waved at Jack over his shoulder and left.

“John's right,” thought Jack. “I have no idea where Ianto could be. Come on, Jack. Think. If I were Ianto, where would I be?” Jack racked his brain for some kind of clue. Then, it hit him.

“The clearing in the woods,” he said out loud. Jack quickly headed in that direction.

Jack made it to the clearing and he started looking around. He called Ianto's name, but got no response. He was starting to get discouraged, but then he saw a large bump in the snow. Jack ran to it and discovered that it was Ianto, freezing and unconscious. Jack scooped him up and went as fast as he could to the infirmary.

 

\---

 

The next day, Jack went back to the infirmary.

“Is Ianto up for visitors?” he asked the nurse.

“I'm sure he'll be happy to see you,” she said. As they walked to Ianto's room, she said to Jack, “You really saved his life, you know. I'd hate to think of what might have happened if you hadn't found him sooner. Can you imagine passing out in the snow like that? Poor boy. I wonder what caused it.” Jack shrugged and the nurse said, “Well, here you are. I'll give you two some privacy.”

“Ianto? Can I come in?” Jack asked as he gently knocked on the door.

"Sure," Ianto answered.

Jack went into the room and sat down in a chair at Ianto's bedside. He looked at the younger man. He didn't look too bad. Maybe a bit weaker, but that was it.

“So, the nurse tells me that you saved my life,” said Ianto. “She said that you found me unconscious in the woods. It's kind of funny how the person who found me is the reason I was there in the first place.”

“Listen,” Jack started. “I fucked up, but I'd like to make things right again. I'd like to explain how I feel. I know that I slept around a lot. I know that I suck at real romantic relationships, but I feel differently about you. You're the first person I know of that I don't want to have sex with.”

Ianto scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“That came out wrong,” Jack said shyly. “What I mean is that when I see you, I don't think about sex. I think about holding your hand or taking you on a date. I think about kissing you. What I'm trying to say is, Ianto, I think I have feelings for you. Now, I don't know if you still have feelings for me. Honestly, you probably don't. I can understand that, but I would really like it if you could give me a second chance. Does that sound ok?”

Ianto didn't say anything. He just looked at Jack. It was unnerving. Ianto's expression was completely unreadable.

Finally, Ianto said, “Jack, come here.”

Jack got out of his chair and stood next to Ianto.

“Come closer,” Ianto instructed.

Jack bent down and leaned over Ianto.

“What's going on?” he asked.

“Like you don't know,” said Ianto with an impish smile. With that, he stretched up and kissed Jack. The kiss was long, slow, romantic, and perfect.

When they pulled apart, Ianto asked, “Hey, Jack?”

"Yes?" Jack answered.

“You know how you said when you see me, you don't think about sex?”

"Right."

“Do you think we could have sex anyway?”

“Of course, baby doll,” said Jack with a laugh. “We can do whatever you want.” 

 

\---

 

A week later, Ianto and Jack were coming downstairs to the townhouse's living room when they saw Christopher, Rose, Gwen, Rhys, Tosh, and Owen sitting around the table. They were all looking at Jack and Ianto expectantly which made the two boys feel a bit uncomfortable.

“What's going on?” Ianto asked.

Christopher gestured to two empty seats at the table and said, “Please sit down. We want to talk with you guys.”

“So, what's this all about?” Jack asked as he and Ianto sat down.

“We're all friends here and there's been some speculation within the group,” said Rose.

“We just want to make sure that we have our facts straight,” added Rhys.

“You guys are freaking me out,” said Ianto.

“Yeah. What are you getting on about?” asked Jack.

Gwen cut right to the chase and asked, “Ianto, are you gay? And if so, are you shacking up with Jack?”

“Wh-what makes you think that?” Ianto stuttered as he felt a blush creep up on his cheeks. 

“We can fucking hear you two having sex,” deadpanned Owen. “I'm not even sure why we're asking you. We all know what the answer is.”

“Wait. You've heard us?” asked Jack. 

They all nodded.

“Oh,” said Jack quietly. 

“Well, I guess it's not really a secret anymore,” said Ianto. “Yes, I'm gay. Yes, Jack's my boyfriend.”

“Wow. Ianto's not straight and Jack's in a committed relationship,” said Tosh with a smile. “This is an exciting day.”

The friends laughed and spent the rest of the evening drinking and playing board games. They couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the end of the week.

 

\---

 

In May of 2009, Ianto graduated from Davies University. His sister and all of his friends were there to help him celebrate the occasion. After the festivities, Ianto went to the flat where he lived as of today. Coincidentally, it just so happened to also be Jack's flat. The two were now living together.

Ianto kissed his boyfriend and said, “I keep thinking back to where I was in my life at the beginning of my days at Uni. It's crazy how much I've changed. I love it though. I love being here with you. I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Jack and Ianto kissed again. 

Then, Jack said, “I'm so glad you walked into our room naked that one day.”

Ianto chuckled as Jack pulled him close by the waist. 

“Well, I'm glad we were the odd wheels in our friend groups,” he said. “I don't think we ever would've gotten together if it wasn't for that.” 

“Well, you're my odd wheel now.” Jack kissed Ianto's neck and Ianto laughed.

“That's not your best line,” Ianto joked.

“No. I guess not,” Jack agreed. “How about this one then. Ianto, let's go to bed.”

I like that much better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the hits/kudos/likes. It means so much to me. If you're interested in my other works, I'd recommend "Loving Sir" or "Cat's Meow"

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me on tumblr (followallthefandoms) or twitter (amjead)


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